La. tax amnesty program brings in $435 million

2 years ago

BATON ROUGE (WBRZ) - Louisiana's recent tax amnesty program brought in $435 million for the state treasury, more than twice the amount included in this year's operating budget.

The Department of Revenue announced the final figure Thursday, after previously saying the program collected more than the $200 million used to balance this year's budget.

Of the remaining $235 million, the revenue department will keep $14 million for its costs of running the program and another $64 million to replace penalties and fees that were waived in the amnesty but that are used to operate the agency.

That leaves Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration and lawmakers $157 million to spend.

For two months, delinquent taxpayers were able to get caught up on their tax bills without any penalties and with only half the interest charges owed.